Integrating impact and relational dimensions of social licence and social impact assessment

Impact assessment and social licence both derive from the discourse of business and society, following related concepts such as corporate social responsibility. However, they have different emphases, implying an organisational focus on impacts and relationships respectively. Using a case study of a large coal-seam gas project in Australia, this paper considers prospects for better integration of these concepts in practice. We interviewed 37 stakeholders - affected landholders plus representatives of government, councils, business and community-based organisations - to ascertain perceptions of impacts and relationships. Participants' perceptions are described in terms of 'impact narratives' and 'relationship narratives'. Impact narratives concern long-term security of artesian water and complex trade-offs between economic and social/environmental domains. All participants perceive both positive and negative impacts; many had difficulty deciding whether to support or oppose the project as a whole. Relationship narratives concern trust in local company staff and capacity to influence company decisions. Perceptions of both impacts and relationships appear to shape the level of social licence. In turn, impact assessment may best reflect stakeholder concerns when it explicitly incorporates relational constructs.